American Notes BOSTON

At first glance, the proposed swap seemed merely a mutual convenience. The New England Aquarium in Boston would give the Naval Ocean Systems Center in San Diego an overly rambunctious 450-lb. male dolphin named Rainbow and in return get a mild-mannered female that is hard of hearing and is thus disqualified for experiments in hearing capability and acoustic response to underwater sounds. When animal lovers heard about it, however, they mounted a fierce protest. First, a coalition picketed the aquarium then last week Citizens to End Animal Suffering and Exploitation filed a federal lawsuit to block the trade.

Protesters argue that dolphins should not be used by the military in the first place and claim that many are abused when the Navy teaches them to fight and to kill people with snout-mounted .45-cal. guns. Said Richard O'Barry, dolphin trainer for the 1960s television series Flipper and now an opponent of all captivity for the endearing mammals: "We capture them, we use them, we abuse them, then we dump them." Although dolphin expert Joseph Geraci of the University of Guelph in Ontario reported finding no signs that the San Diego center mistreats the creatures, the aquarium, which has made similar transfers before, put the plan on hold. Said executive director John Prescott: "We want to satisfy any anxiety raised by this decision."